The Marine All Star Band stepped on stage in the main auditorium and the crowd cheered. “We haven’t done anything yet!” Giove said as the audience laughed. Larry Bethune of Berklee then introduced the band, “We have veterans among our staff, alum, and students.” He continued by announcing that the performance was a Pentagon-sanctioned event. The band itself was made up of musicians from across America, as well as the Marine base in Japan. Members of the band were from bases at Paris Island, South Carolina, Jacksonville, New Orleans, California, San Diego, Hawaii, and Okinawa, Japan.

The band played big band standards like “Nutville” and “Groovin’ Hard.” The group even featured one of its performers extensively! Ken Ebo played trombone for the All Star Band, wrote and arranged some of the group’s tunes, and even sang for the audience. The band played one of Ken’s original tunes, “Sunset Parade”; later in the set, he returned to sing “Call Me Irresponsible.” Anyone in the audience would agree that he sounded eerily similar to Frank Sinatra!

By bringing the U.S. Marine Corps All Star Band to the 2013 Berklee High School Jazz Festival, Berklee showed just how far its network of musicians can reach!

Marine Corps All Star Band – Groovin’ Hard

Lester Young remains one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz history. Among the musicians he influenced in the R&B school are Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Forrest, and King Curtis.

With the advent of Rock’n'Roll in the 1950s, it became increasingly difficult for the big bands of the Swing Era to find work. For saxophonists, this meant changing their playing to fit the times. Altissimo playing, honking low notes, soulful vibrato, and (sometimes) a lighter tone were trademarks of this new style of tenor playing, exemplified in the Lester Young-influenced playing of Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy “Night Train” Forrest, and King Curtis.

Illinois Jacquet

Saxophonist Illinois Jacquet is often credited with the first R&B saxophone solo on the Lionel Hampton hit, "Flying Home."

Louisiana-born Illinois Jacquet made history with his solo on Lionel Hampton’s “Flying Home” in 1942 – widely considered the first R&B saxophone solo in history. Influenced by Ben Webster’s honking low notes, Jacquet also became one of the first saxophonists to explore the altissimo register, and his often-sudden contrast of the extreme highs and lows of the saxophone would become one of the signature traits of R&B playing. After a few years in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Jacquet moved to California to start a small group with his brother and a young Charlie Mingus.

Jacquet joined Lester Young for the Academy Award-nominated short film Jammin’ the Blues, and later moved to New York in 1946 to replace Young in the Count Basie Orchestra. The 1960s and ‘70s saw Jacquet performing mostly in Europe, until forming his own Illinois Jacquet Big Band in 1981.  Jacquet continued to perform and record with his big band until a heart attack took his life on July 22, 2004.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBpUAYoemr0

What to Listen For

In this hard-hitting solo, Jacquet’s vibrato and various effects are on display. He runs up and down the horn with ease. Note the wide vibrato that is somewhat similar to Young’s. On the third chorus, notice the voice-leading from the I7 to the IV7, and how Jacquet adjusts his melody ever so slightly, but still keeps a simple melodic idea alive, much like Young often does. Notice the sparse, but extremely effective use of altissimo: after hitting triplet kicks with the rest of the band to end his third chorus, Jacquet flies into the altissimo range just as the rest of the horns drop out to start the fourth chorus.

Jimmy “Night Train” Forrest

Saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, a well-respected jazz and R&B musician, garnered fame for his 1952 hit "Night Train."

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 24, 1920, Jimmy Forrest was a skilled hard-bop tenor player but also a soulful R&B soloist. Forrest’s early career saw him perform with the Andy Kirk and Duke Ellington Big Bands.  However, as a blues and R&B player, Forrest’s first gig was with the Jay McShann Orchestra. Forrest gained notoriety as a solo artist in 1952 when he released “Night Train,” which would reach #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. Forrest continued on the R&B circuits throughout the 1950s, recording hits such as “Hey Mrs. Jones” and “Bolo Blues.”

In 1959, Forrest returned to the jazz scene with All the Gin is Gone, which is especially notable because it contains the first recorded solos of guitar great Grant Green, as well as a young Elvin Jones. Forrest recorded several more records for Prestige, including two with organist Jack McDuff, which helped begin the soul-jazz era.

For the remainder of his career, Forrest remained a sideman, free-lancing throughout the ‘60s until joining the Count Basie Orchestra from 1972-1977. Forrest died on August 26, 1980 at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bcp4qFHt5U

What to Listen For

Like Young, Forrest makes extensive use of vibrato, smears, and pitch alterations. What really differentiates Forrest from Young is the percussiveness of Forrest’s playing, a style more prevalent in R&B playing than in Swing Era playing. Forrest’s signature sound is his “growl,” which is generally made by humming a note in the back of one’s throat while playing. Forrest uses the growl much more in his R&B playing than in his more traditional jazz playing. While it is not as evident based solely on this recording, Forrest is a master of vibrato and its uses. Depending on the recording, he can play a very fast vibrato, a very subtle vibrato, or a completely straight and pure tone. Forrest uses combinations of all of these effects to form his signature sound, and learning when and how to use different combinations of vibrato and effects is essential for any saxophone player.

King Curtis

Saxophonist King Curtis was one of the most well-known saxophonists of the soul era.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 7, 1934, Curtis is the king of R&B saxophone playing, and was a successful session player, solo artist, and bandleader. After a stint with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Curtis moved to New York in 1952 to pursue a career as a session musician, where he recorded with Nat Adderley, Wynton Kelly, and Buddy Holly, to name a few.

While turning out successful solo R&B records, Curtis also led The Kingpins, Aretha Franklin’s backing band, and performed and recorded with Sam Cooke in 1963. Curtis also worked as a producer for Groove Records, and won a Grammy in 1970 for a duet performance of “Games People Play” with Duane Allman.

As a jazz artist, Curtis recorded with Oliver Nelson, Jimmy Forrest, and Shirley Scott, to name a few.  Curtis was stabbed to death on August 13, 1971, at the age of 37, after telling a junkie to leave his doorstep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd-37QTDxZA

What to Listen For

While Curtis’ soloing style is far more percussive and rhythmic than Young’s, listen to the tone, particularly as he plays fills around the vocal. The vibrato and the light, airy tone of the higher register – coupled with his use of subtone in the low register – is reminiscent of Young’s playing. As Curtis moves into his solo, note the repeated use of melodic ideas. Like Young, Curtis focuses far more on creating melodic continuity than he does on outlining the harmony. This particular excerpt of Curtis’ playing also illustrates the influence of earlier R&B players, particularly in his use of altissimo and his contrast between the extreme high and low registers of the instrument.

The 1950s brought about big changes in jazz. Young African Americans who grew up listening to bebop took the style to the next level. After bebop came about in the late ’30s, hard bop began to emerge in the ’50s, with fresh musicians pushing the boundaries of rhythm, harmony, and improvisation to new heights. Artists like Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and Cannonball Adderley wrote and performed throughout this time in the New York club scene.

Hard Bop: Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Moanin’

At the same time, West Coast (cool) jazz was becoming popular in California; when West Coast musicians began to arrive in New York, some hard bop artists took notice. Miles Davis was quick to move away from the exhausting hard bop scene and began playing cool jazz. The idea of cool jazz is centered around more conservative harmonies and rhythms, and many, many fewer notes. Making an entire tune and solo out of just a few notes was a normal exercise for Miles and other cool jazz artists. Miles became key to the development of cool jazz, even though the cool jazz scene centered around California. Miles was one of just a few cool jazz players in New York at the time.

Cool Jazz: Miles Davis

At this point in jazz’s history, each sub-genre was a reaction to another. In the late ’50s Ornette Coleman came to New York from Los Angeles and brought free jazz with him. Free jazz pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries further than any other genre before it; with strange forms and hard-to-follow progressions, free jazz was truly a pioneering music. Other musicians followed, like John Coltrane and Sun Ra. Free jazz was the least received form of jazz, with a small but loyal following. John Coltrane took free jazz through many avenues in his career, mixing blues, gospel, bebop, and modal influences into his compositions. The beginning of the 1960s showed a large diversion from jazz music entirely, with the popularization of rock and folk music to America.

Free Jazz: Ornette Coleman – Free

The period between 1920 and the 1960s proved to be the most radical time for jazz music, with some of the biggest developments in American music happening in New York City, from American roots blues, to the big band and swing music through World War II, to bebop, hard bop, and beyond. Innovations by one-of-a-kind musicians in the 1960s paved the way for even more changes in jazz music, which is still evolving to this day.

The 2013 Berklee Commencement Ceremony is coming up at Agganis Stadium at Boston University May 11, and will bring with it a triple threat of honorary doctorate recipients. Carole King, Annie Lennox, and Willie Nelson will be attending the Berklee Commencement this year to receive their doctorates, joining an impressive group of past recipients including Duke Ellington, Sting, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and many more. Needless to say, members of this year’s graduating class have a very special night to look forward to.

Willie Nelson, the singer-songwriter, philanthropist, activist, and actor, has been capturing audiences’ imaginations for the past 50 years. He has changed the face of country music by challenging the norms of Nashville country’s sound since the ’60s; because of his influence, his unique style of singing and songwriting was dubbed “Outlaw” country.

Nelson, born 1933 in Texas, began writing his own music when he was given his first guitar at the age of six. After graduating high school, Willie Nelson joined the US Air Force and attended Baylor University for a short time. Nelson dropped out of both his college program and the service and began writing some of his biggest hits in the late ’50s, including “Crazy” and “Night Life.”

Nelson moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1960 and got a job as a songwriter, making $50 a week. Nelson’s first break as a songwriter was when his early tune “Crazy” was recorded by Patsy Cline and became a huge country hit. After a few of his other tunes were recorded by other successful artists, it became clear that his unique sound did not fit with the conservative Nashville sound of the time; he didn’t enjoy much success by performing his own work. In 1970, he moved back to Texas and continued to perform and record. In 1975, Willie finally gained his own success for his album Red Headed Stranger, which went to No.1 on the rock and country charts. This album began a streak of success for Willie Nelson through the 1980s with chart toppers and several Grammys.

Willie continued to record throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He has been more successful than ever with his recent work, performing up to 200 dates a year, recording, acting, and writing for others. Nelson continues to push his own boundaries, just as he has always done.

To date Willie Nelson has recorded up to 3,000 songs, just under 300 albums, recorded and written countless hits for himself and others, as well as scored a long list of Grammys. He has earned his title as a country legend along with others like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton, and we are thrilled to host him at our college this May.

Willie Nelson – “Crazy” Live in Scotland 1992

Annie Lennox has been at the forefront of the music world for over 30 years as a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and humanitarian.

For over 30 years, Annie Lennox has been forging new trails in the music world as a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and activist. After earning international acclaim as a member of the synth-pop duo Eurythmics, Lennox embarked on a successful musical career that now boasts four Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, and over 80 million records sold worldwide. In honor of her extensive contributions to the global music community, Lennox will be awarded – alongside Willie Nelson and Carole King – an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music at this year’s commencement ceremonies.

Early Career

Lennox’s musical career began at the age of 17 when she left her native Scotland to attend the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied classical flute and piano. In 1976, Lennox was a member of the band Dragon’s Playground, before leaving the group to join The Tourists.  During her time with The Tourists, the band had two top-10 hits in the UK (“I Only Want to Be With You” in 1979 and “So Good to Be Back Home Again” in 1980), but it was during this stint with the Tourists that Lennox first began working with Dave Stewart, whom she had previously met while working at a London restaurant.

Eurythmics

Annie Lennox rose to stardom alongside Dave Stewart, her partner in the pop duo, Eurythmics.

After the Tourists disbanded in 1980, Lennox and Stewart formed Eurythmics, which would become one of the most successful pop duos in history. After releasing their debut album, In the Garden, in 1981, Eurythmics saw their first major success in January of 1983 with their second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This); the title track would reach #2 on the UK Charts and also chart across the Atlantic in the US. In November of 1983, they would release Touch, which reached #1 as an album in the UK and also contained three major hit singles (“Who’s That Girl,” “Right By Your Side,” and “Here Comes the Rain Again”). Since its 1983 release, the album has been certified platinum in the US and silver in the UK and was listed in Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” 1984 saw the Eurythmics release Touch Dance – dance remixes of songs from Touch – and 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother), a soundtrack album for the film adaptation of George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Though marred by controversy and legal complications regarding its use in the film, the release was still certified gold in the UK.

During the mid-1980s, Eurythmics began moving away from their electronically-based sound, gravitating instead towards a more traditional band sound. The move began with Be Yourself Tonight (1985), which would reach the top ten in both the US and the UK, and Revenge (1986), which certified Platinum in the UK and Gold in the US. In 1987, the duo released Savage, which made heavy use of samples and drum loops and constituted a change in direction for the group. In 1989, Eurythmics released We Too Are One, which would become their second album, along with Touch, to reach #1 in the UK. Eurythmics disbanded in 1990, though no official notice was given. Stewart began a successful career as a record producer and film composer; Lennox took some time off before emerging as a solo artist in 1992. 

Solo Career

Lennox's 1992 debut solo album, Diva, brought her international acclaim as a solo artist.

Lennox released her first solo album, Diva, in April 1992. The album brought Lennox international and domestic success, reaching #1 in the UK Charts and #23 in the US, where it was certified Double Platinum. The album, along with its video version, was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning one Grammy for “Best Long Form Music Video.” The album also produced hit singles in “Why” and “Walking on Broken Glass.”

After the release of Diva, Lennox continued to record, but stepped out of the spotlight until releasing her second album, Medusa, in 1995. The album, which featured all covers, was nominated for the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award, but ultimately lost to Joni Mitchell’s Turbulent Indigo. Lennox did, however, win a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the album’s single “No More I Love You’s.”

After performing on the soundtracks for Apollo 13 and The Avengers, Lennox reunited with Dave Stewart for a new Eurythmics album, Peace. Designed to promote world peace, the tour was a 24-date undertaking for Stewart and Lennox, who donated all profits to Greenpeace and Amnesty International.

Lennox released her third solo album, Bare, in 2003; it was her most successful album in the US to date, peaking at #4 in the US Charts.  An Academy Award for Best Song (“Into the West,” from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) in 2004, 2005 collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Dave Stewart, and performances with Madonna and Sting highlighted the early 2000s before the release of Lennox’s next album, Songs of Mass Destruction.

Songs of Mass Destruction, along with the song “Sing,” were recorded to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign.  Lennox finished her contract with Sony with The Annie Lennox Collection before signing with Island Records (UK) and Decca Records (US) and releasing her 2010 album, A Christmas Cornucopia.  Notable recent performances include performing at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Concert and the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremonies.

Charity Work and Activism

Lennox has been involved extensively with various HIV/AIDS causes, including Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Campaign and the Treatment Action Campaign; she has also been a public supporter of Greenpeace and Amnesty International.  Lennox was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 in recognition of her humanitarian involvement.

For over thirty years, Annie Lennox has been a pioneer in both the musical and humanitarian worlds. She will join other musical greats such as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Allison Krauss, and many others as she receives an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music at the 2013 Commencement Ceremonies.

Annie Lennox – “Walking on Broken Glass” Live (2006)

The Berklee College of Music commencement ceremony for the class of 2013 is coming up on May 11^th. Receiving an honorary doctorate from the college will be the one and only Carole King. King, along with Willie Nelson and Annie Lennox, will be appearing and speaking at the ceremony; the music of all three artists will be featured in the concert played by graduating students on the eve of the commencement. This will certainly be a star-studded event; whether it be through King, Nelson, or Lennox, I believe that every student graduating will have some kind of a connection to one or all of these musicians. I myself grew up hearing the music of these artists: my Grandpa was a massive Johnny Cash fan (and by extension, Willie Nelson fan), and my Mother’s Annie Lennox CD was often on in the house. But it was Carole King who really had an influence on me growing up. Funnily enough, it was the WB show Gilmore Girls –- which had as its theme song King’s “Where You Lead,” and enjoyed a few guest appearances by her in season 3 — that exposed me to King’s music, and from there I was hooked. King has worked with everyone from Joni Mitchell to James Taylor to Mary J. Blige to Celine Dion to Steven Tyler; it’s because of her diversity that her music has touched so many lives over several generations.

King was born in Manhattan, New York and grew up in Brooklyn. She began playing piano at the age of 4 and grew up surrounded by music. She formed a band in high school called the Co-Sines and wrote and recorded music with friend Paul Simon, who lived just down the street. At Queens College she met Gerry Goffin, her writing partner and, later, her husband. At the age of 17, she wrote her first #1 hit: “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” for her husband and the Shirelles. King and Goffin went on to write dozens of chart toppers during this time; John Lennon and Paul McCartney themselves have been quoted as saying all they “ever wanted to be was like Goffin and King.”

In the late ‘60s King’s “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)” went straight to the top when Aretha Franklin recorded it, and in 1970 King released her first solo album, Writer, after moving to California and collaborating with James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. But it wasn’t until she recorded Tapestry in 1971 that she was really recognized, and she broke an industry record by winning Record, Song, and Album of the Year at the Grammy awards. Tapestry was number 1 on the charts for 15 weeks and has sold over 25 million copies to date.

King has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, one Primetime Emmy Award, and one Satellite Award. She has won six Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Grammy Trustees Award. She and her ex-husband Gerry Goffin were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988. She was inducted into the rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the 2,486^th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. King is an environmental activist and an active member of the Democratic Party. She currently resides on a ranch in Idaho.

We are absolutely thrilled to have such an iconic woman representing the class of 2013 this year!

Lester Young remains one of the most influential saxophonists in the history of jazz. Among those whom he influenced are Flip Phillips and Don Byas during the Swing Era

The first school of saxophonists on whom Lester Young had a profound influence were saxophonists of the Swing Era (1935-1945).  At the height of jazz’s popularity, the Swing Era was a time of big bands, dances, and good times. Jazz was, for the moment, the popular music of the United States. Big Band giants such as Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and Glenn Miller dominated the early days of radio with hits such as “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “In the Mood,” and “American Patrol.” While Coleman Hawkins was still considered the “Father of the Tenor Saxophone,” a number of swing-era tenor players began basing their playing off of Lester Young’s distinctive style. Players such as Flip Phillips and Don Byas highlight a host of players who centered their style off of the distinctive sound of Lester Young.

Flip Phillips

Saxophonist Flip Phillips was one of the earliest Lester Young disciples during the Swing Era

One of Young’s early disciples in the 1940s was a young rising star of the Swing Era: Flip Phillips. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1915, Phillips saw the beginnings of the Swing Era and the saxophone playing of both Hawkins and Young. A staple in Woody Herman’s band in the 1940s, Phillips had a unique perspective of having heard and learned from the three great Swing Era Tenors: Hawkins, Young and Ben Webster. In addition to performing with Herman’s Big Band, Phillips also found work playing in one of Herman’s small groups, the Woodchoppers, before joining Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic series, where he performed alongside all the big cats of the day: Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, and many others.

Phillips’s style drew heavily on all three of the major Swing Era Tenor players. His tone had, in some respects, a dual personality.  On some recordings, such as a 1947 Carnegie Hall recording of “Perdido,” Phillips sounds much like Ben Webster, whose playing had a great deal of influence on certainjump-blues players – musicians such as Illinois Jacquet who performed a combination of up-tempo blues and boogie-woogie that laid the foundation for Rock ‘N’ Roll.  Repeated notes, a quasi-growling, rough tone, and some Hawkins-esque patterns litter Phillips’s solo, which receives thunderous applause.  Yet a look at some of Phillips’s other works clearly shows a strong Lester Young influence.

On Phillips’s last recording before he died, Swing Is the Thing! (Verve, 1999), Phillips played with the sweet tone of Young on a beautiful duet with Christian McBride over the Duke Ellington standard “In a Mellow Tone.”

What To Listen For

One of Lester Young’s greatest gifts to the jazz repertoire is the way that he played ballads. Young served as Charlie Parker’s inspiration on ballads, so it is no surprise that a number of great players invoke Young’s delicate and sweet persona on ballads. In this 1970 recording of “Sweet and Lovely” by the Flip Phillips Quartet, pay close attention to Phillips’ tone. Notice also the bends and inflections Phillips uses to color the piece. While much of the vocabulary is post-swing era, and Phillips makes much more use of patterns than Young ever did, note the classic Young sound: timely vibrato, inflections, deviations from the intended pitch, and bends.

Don Byas

Tenor Saxophonist Don Byas was one of the many "transition players" who helped move jazz out of the Swing Era into Bebop.

Don Byas is often considered a transitional player: someone who helped transition jazz from one era to the next.  Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1912, Don Byas began his professional career in 1933, when he began playing for Bert Johnson’s Sharps and Flats.  He later joined the Lionel Hampton Orchestra at the Paradise Club in 1935 before moving to New York in 1937.

It is in New York that Byas’s career began to mirror Young’s. In March of 1939, Byas joined Andy Kirk’s Twelve Clouds of Joy, which had also hired Young between his stints with Count Basie’s Orchestra. In 1940, Byas recorded “Practice Makes Perfect” with Billie Holiday and was hired by the Count Basie Orchestra in 1941 to replace Young.  Ironically, Byas left the Basie band in late 1943 to pursue a career in smaller ensembles, and would be replaced by none other than the Pres, Lester Young himself.

The most obvious difference between Young and Byas is their vocabulary.  Byas was one of the more unheralded pioneers of bebop and spent many nights jamming with Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk, and Kenny Clarke at Milton’s Playhouse in 1941.

In 1946, Byas toured Europe with the Don Redman Big Band and stayed in Europe for much of the rest of his life, living in Barcelona, where he regularly performed at the Copacabana Club and spent additional time in Paris and Amsterdam. Byas briefly returned to the States for a performance at the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival, but returned to Amsterdam, where he died of lung cancer in 1972 at the age of fifty-nine.

What to Listen For

In this 1940 Billie Holiday recording of “Practice Makes Perfect,” pay close attention to the beginning of Byas’s solo. Though his tone is somewhat more centered and full than Young’s tone, note the motivic development in the first couple of bars and the large scoop into Byas’s first note. Byas makes excellent use of Young-esque inflections and bends for most of the rest of the solo before foreshadowing the bebop idiom with his chromaticism at the end of the solo.

This Berklee alum has been doing some great things over the years, such as working with Grammy winning producers, singing on American Idol, becoming an extremely accomplished jazz musician, and most recently working on her debut album as a solo artist with producer Patrice Rushen. Aubrey Logan came to this year’s Berklee High School Jazz Festival as a featured clinician for the day and made a few appearances with the Rainbow Band and Phil Wilson, the band director for whom the festival was dedicated.

Aubrey Logan was one of the top clinicians the Jazz Festival had the good fortune to host. Her ability to engage an audience of all ages and skill levels is innate. Aubrey ran a performance technique clinic at the festival, geared towards showing young musicians how to conduct themselves on the stage (whether they are a vocalist, a rhythm section player, or a horn player.) She offered several exercises and ideas to the audience of high schoolers, like defining the difference between self consciousness and self awareness.  She defined self-consciousness as a negative aspect of performance, with symptoms such as being nervous and overthinking one’s flaws, and self awareness as being conscious of what you could improve about your performance in a constructive way.

At this point in the clinic, Aubrey set aside the microphone and performed a tune of hers titled “High Place,” which featured her skills as a vocalist and trombonist. As she finished her tune, she jumped right into another exercise for the students in the room. She asked the crowd, “who here is a singer?” A considerable amount of students held their hands up as she called on a young man to come to the stage. Aubrey had the student sing a song of his choice, so he sang a song he wrote. After the student sang through the first verse, Aubrey stopped him and told him to think about three things:  who the audience is, what the music is, and what the song is about. Aubrey also brought up the location on the stage where a performer should stand while singing different sections of a tune. She gave the young man a moment to soak in these points about the song he was performing, and he began to sing again. It was apparent that Aubrey’s comments enhanced the student’s singing of the song and his overall performance. Aubrey continued to echo this process with other students in the audience until her time was up.

As the clinic was wrapping up, Aubrey let the audience know that she was going to be performing with the Berklee Rainbow Band and Phil Wilson in the main auditorium immediately after her clinic. Most of the audience loved her so much that they went straight to the auditorium to watch her performance! During the Rainbow Band set, Aubrey performed “High Places,” (a great opportunity for her clinic audience to see her put the points she had made to use) as well as a number of other originals and standards!

Aubrey Logan – “High Places” Video

Here are some notes from the Aubrey Logan Clinic about Performance Techniques:

• Do not perform what is too complicated for you; do that in the practice room.
• About the audience: “They don’t want to go to see good music, they want to feel something.”
• Be self aware, not self conscious on stage.
• Know your role in the band, whether you are the leader or not.
• When on stage: Thing about yourself, the audience, and the material.

New Orleans is credited with the origins of Jazz music!

The history of New Orleans music and its impact on the beginnings of jazz were affected by many factors: social change, forward thinking, and individuals with a desire to express their lives through their music. It was a culture of people telling stories and living what they played and wrote.

The first signs of jazz began developing just before the turn of the 20th century. During the 1880s there was an eclectic mix of music happening in New Orleans: gospel, blues, military marches, rags, and brass bands. It was the brass bands that made their way into saloons and “Storyville,” a red-light district that was extremely popular in the 1890s. These brass bands mainly consisted of a cornet playing the melody, a clarinet on counterpoint, tuba or trombone for bass lines, and some sort of percussion. In 1898, after the United States defeated Spain and claimed Puerto Rico, U.S. troops primarily returned home through New Orleans. Many of these soldiers brought back different brass instruments from Europe and sold them to the local musicians living in New Orleans. Soon after, there was a brass band on almost every block, and the beginnings of blues could be heard nearly everywhere. At this time, the instruments were being played to imitate the sound of the human voice.

New Orleans has always differed from other cities when it comes to its music scene. Like so many others, New York City’s scene was largely based around competition: which musicians were the best, and who would get the gig. New Orleans was essentially a party city, and that effected its music greatly. Because of this party atmosphere, there was always a demand for music at every kind of event imaginable, paid or not. Music was not just entertainment then — it was a way of life and a soundtrack to the culture. The culture was racially integrated, as was the music (unlike most other cities at the time.)

Jelly Roll Morton was considered the first great Jazz composer.

At the turn of the century, many New Orleans musicians headed north to Chicago and New York City. There they began incorporating the music they learned in New Orleans into the music up North, heavily influencing the scene with their syncopated mix of rag, blues, and brass band style music. At this time in history, this kind of music did not fall under the name “jazz.” Jazz orchestras were called syncopated orchestras, a trend which continued until 1917 when the first references to “jazz” began to appear.

In 1917 the first jazz record was released: Jack “Papa” Laine’s Original Dixieland Jass Band — but jazz was still a loosely used term. It wasn’t until Jelly Roll Morton came on the scene, with his fusion of rag and blues, that a clearer representation of the beginning of jazz was tangible. But the person to change music forever was trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong, who really departed from the music of Dixieland, rag, and blues. Armstrong’s style of playing and singing changed the way his contemporaries approached music; he is said to have influenced jazz more than any other artist.

The emergence of jazz out of blues, ragtime, and old gospel was not just a change in style and composition, but a change in how music was received in culture. The new focus on the “performer” made way for a focus on a new kind of composition. Though this change didn’t happen over night, jazz was an overwhelming success in its early forms, although it took dozens of musicians, changing and experimenting, to develop the kind of music that was then brought to cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and New York.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksmGt2U-xTE

One of the most underrated jazz pianists in history.

Life

Vincent Anthony Dellaglio was born on July 17, 1928 in San Fransisco. He did not begin performing until he was in college at San Francisco State College. Vince was active in the recording session scene there in addition to performing in bars, clubs, and other establishments. He played as many other engagements as possible; weddings, private parties, and high school concerts made up only a small amount of the work he did when he was beginning his career. Soon, Vince earned his first residency at the Black Hawk Club in San Fransisco, filling in between sets for Art Tatum. The experience almost made Vince quit his instrument all together, saying “it was more than scary.”

Around 1953, after gaining some notoriety for his engagement at the Black Hawk, Guaraldi recorded for the first time on Cal Tjader’s Vibratharpe. After his experience recording with Cal, Vince stepped away from the recording scene to hone his craft as a pianist and composer, although he continued gigging in the tough club scene in San Francisco with his own trio. In 1955 Vince, along with his trio, recorded two records: The Vince Guaraldi Trio in 1956, and A Flower is a Lonesome Thing in 1957. At the same time, he joined Cal Tjader again and made an impression on the jazz community with his performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Vince left Tjader’s group once again in 1959 to pursue his own music. It wasn’t until he recorded Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus in 1962 – an album in response to the foreign film “Black Orpheus” – that he gained massive attention. The music written for the film had been riding the growing Bossa Nova wave in America, but when radio stations began playing Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate To The Wind,” it became a grassroots hit in the jazz world and beyond. His sound was nothing like what was being heard in jazz at the time, which showed in the public’s response, and in 1963 Vince won the Best Original Jazz Composition Grammy for “Cast Your Fate To The Wind.” In 1963 and ’64, Vince recorded a few successful follow-up albums and was on to his next history-making venture. For 18 months Vince worked with his trio, along with a choir of over 60 people, to create one of the very first “jazz masses” in history. The composition was debuted in 1965 on another critically successful album.

The year before, Charlie Schulz hired Vince to compose a score for what would be a television documentary called A Boy Named Charlie Brown after producer Lee Mendelson heard Vince’s  “Cast Your Fate To The Wind.” After the TV show was put into motion, Lee asked Vince to compose the score for the Peanuts Christmas Special that was to be aired, and he took the job without hesitation. The first thing he wrote for the special was “Linus And Lucy,” followed by a tune called “Christmas Time Is Here” that went on to become a Christmas standard. The special, sponsored by Coca-Cola, shot Vince Guaraldi into even greater notoriety, now having a repertoire of tunes which the public loved. Although the next 10 years working on the Peanuts television show and specials were the busiest of Vince’s career, he did manage to put out six albums during this time and make the move from Fantasy Records to Warner Brothers Music.

In February of 1976, in between sets at a performance at Menlo Park’s Butterfield’s nightclub, Vince Guaraldi died from a sudden heart attack. Soon after, “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown” aired on television. It was the last written work of Guaraldi’s to ever be heard heard on the program, and he had just finished recording it the night of his heart attack. Vince was just 47 years old.

Influence

Vince inspired generations of television viewers to listen to jazz. Charlie Brown was the very first children’s cartoon to incorporate “adult” music, and it was his music that helped Charlie Brown become such an iconic television show. Aspects of Vince’s phrasing, knowledge of harmony, and improvisational mastery have influenced other jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis and Dave Brubeck, generally the Cool Jazz scene, and many more.

Style & Technique

The musicians who came out of San Francisco during the ’50s and ’60s have largely been heavily influenced by the cool jazz sound, which was made up of conservative harmony and tempos and smooth tones from horns and other instruments. Nothing can describe Vince’s sound better than the word “listenable”; his touch was light on the piano, which allowed for a mellow comping and soloistic sound; his sense of harmony was conservative and appropriate (not reaching for out tensions or lines when playing with his usual trio; and there were definite classical influences apparent in the way he played. All of these aspects made Vince and his music so accessible and beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfehIRBff8A